New Film Features Video Games Theme and Visual Effects from Critical Mass Interactive

Wednesday, March 11---Austin, TX---Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment and Texas Avenue Films, producers of the video games-themed film The 2 Bobs, today announced the film’s world premiere as part of SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, scheduled for Monday, March 16 at the Paramount Theatre. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tim McCanlies, the film features game-specific visual effects developed and produced by Critical Mass Interactive, a leading U.S. game developer based in Austin.

The 2 Bobs is a feature film written and directed by filmmaker Tim McCanlies, best known for his direction and screenwriting on films such as the animated hit film“The Iron Giant” and family flick“Secondhand Lions,” starring Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Kyra Sedgwick. McCanlies has carved out a unique piece of filmmaking territory in his career, also credited for conceptualizing the popular Warner Brothers TV show,“Smallville,” based on the DC Comics character Superman. By all accounts, The 2 Bobs presents edgier fare than McCanlies’ usual work, with a keen eye on pervasive geek culture, with video games as the central theme.

Matt Scibilia, President and Co-founder of Critical Mass Interactive, Inc., offers,“As an established game development company with significant film-quality animation talent on deck, we had both the necessary production experience and game playing interest to lend the needed visual effects to the film, as well as have an understanding of a game player’s aesthetic choices. This project broke ground for us, as we were able to apply our visual technology and techniques to the overall look of the film, but also bring believability to the game designed by the film’s main characters.”

Scibilia adds,“Our team utilized standard game development methodology to generate the avatars for the actors, prepping the assets for the Unreal 3 game engine. The 3D characters and environments prepared and rendered for the film are optimized for next generation gameplay in Unreal. We built an actual‘Cataclysm’ game based upon the movie characters from these visual effects assets. It was a fun ride using our game industry methods for a feature film, and we are pleased with the end result.”

Mark Mueller of Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment, producer and chief financier for The 2 Bobs, state,“We knew we needed realistic game play elements in the film to make the main character’s experience credible to our audience. By bringing in an expert game development and visual effects team like Critical Mass Interactive, we succeeded in artfully blending the two worlds of game play and the character’s experience in the film.”

The 2 Bobs is a video game geek comedy based in Austin, Texas. The story follows two gaming legends known as The 2 Bobs. But just as they finish their ground-breaking violent video game masterpiece, these gaming gurus discover their precious game software has been stolen - and with it, their livelihoods, genius reputations, and everything they own. To get back their game - and their lives -The 2 Bobs and their fellow-geek employees Munch, Doofus and The Dark Prince are forced to‘turn detective’ and plunge into the strange world of Christian Venture Capitalists, aged Dixie Mafia hoodlums, and bizarre Internet Spammers that inhabit Austin.

The film’s cast features an eclectic array of accomplished young acting talent, including Devin Ratray (Home Alone, Law&Order, Third Watch, The Flying Scissors), Tyler Francavilla (Law&Order, Roommates, Boston Public), Cody Kasch (Desperate Housewives, The Practice, ER), Leonardo Nam (He’s Just Not That Into You, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Perfect Score) and Mika Boorem (Blue Crush, Dawson’s Creek, Riding in Cars with Boys). Local heroes playing on a national stage, juggler-cum-actor/writer Turk Pipkin and film criticism savant Harry Knowles make memorable cameo appearances as well.

The 2 Bobs kicks off with a preview screening for SXSW festival attendees on Friday, March 13 at 6:45 pm at the Austin Convention Center. Hosted by Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment, The 2 Bobs cast and crew premiere party is open to SXSW badgeholders and will be held at Aces on 6th St. from 6 pm to 8 pm on Saturday, March 14. The cast and crew premiere party features competitive game players and former Frag Dolls Alyson Bridge (“Nin9tyNin9”) and Alex Herbert (“Tart”) competing against party guests on Halo 3. Game competitors have a chance to win a brand new Epiphone electric guitar, donated by Gibson Guitars.

The main event is the film’s world premiere for the public, scheduled for Monday March 16 at 6:30 pm at the Paramount Theatre at 713 Congress Avenue. The film premiere will include a Q&A session with filmmaker Tim McCanlies, along with members of the principal cast and production team. Film screening tickets for The 2 Bobs are available at the Paramount Theatre box office shortly before show time. Tickets are $10 and are available on a first-come basis, with precedence given to SXSW badgeholders.

Voodoo Cowboy is an entertainment business dedicated to the exploration of imagination, creativity, and inspiration in film, music, athletics, and art. We believe that creative expression is as vital as it is inevitable, and our ambition is to help usher those unique and inspired perspectives into the world with the proper support, infrastructure, and creative control that an artist deserves. We make films, promote musicians, sponsor athletes, and patronize the arts. The people of Voodoo Cowboy encompass a broad range of experiences in music, film, economics, law, new media, and adventure. We work together to help our artists and athletes reach their full potential, maximizing our resources to highlight the best of their abilities.

Founded in 2003, Critical Mass Interactive is an Austin-based media production company specializing in development and production of videogames, commercial broadcasts, and feature film projects. Our mission is to create and deliver innovative and memorable entertainment. From videogames to film, we're passionate about producing an unforgettable experience. We earned our reputation by reliably providing high-quality outsource programming, art, and design solutions for video game companies, including Disney, Electronic Arts, Midway, NCsoft, Sega, Sony, THQ, Universal, and many others. As a result, we understand what it takes to make agreat product, and are dedicated to producing impressive, creative results.

Games Press is the leading online resource for games journalists. Used daily by magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, online media and retailers worldwide, it offers a vast, constantly updated archive of press releases and assets, and is the simplest and most cost-effective way for PR professionals to reach the widest possible audience. Registration for the site and the Games Press email digest is available, to the trade only, at www.gamespress.com.

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Sign up to receive MCV's email news updates and access to other online products and services.

MCV is the leading trade news and community site for all professionals working within the UK and international video games market. It reaches everyone from store manager to CEO, covering the entire industry. MCV is published by NewBay Media, which specialises in entertainment, leisure and technology markets.